Puerto Vallarta Squeeze: The Run for el Norte

by Robert James Waller

Overview

The author of the blockbuster The Bridges of Madison County blends passion and adventure in the story of an American novelist in Mexico and his young lover, who take a trip with a killer.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780446517478
Publisher:	Grand Central Publishing
Publication date:	10/26/1995
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	335,475
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Robert James Waller lived on a remote ranch in the high-desert mountains of Texas, where he pursued his interests in writing, photography, music, economics, and mathematics. He was the New York Times bestselling author The Bridges of Madison County, which has sold over 10 million copies, was adapted into a film starring Meryl Streep and Clintwood and also a Broadway musical; and its epilogue A Thousand Country Roads. He died in his home at age 77.

Editorial Reviews

Lighting out for new territory but going badly astray, Waller (Border Music) mixes his usual conceits with the outlines of a thriller. Looking for inspiration and a cheap place to live off his dwindling royalty check, over-the-hill writer Danny Pastor has come to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, where he spends most of his time having steamy sex with Luz, a young peasant notable for her sordid past as a prostitute, her dreams of one day reaching El Norte and her obscene way of eating ice cream cones. The book opens with Danny witnessing the murder of an American naval officer; later that same night, he and Luz run into the killer in a bar. The "shooter" (which is how he is identified for most of the novel) offers Danny $3000 to drive him to the border, and Danny, sniffing material for a book that could remake his name, agrees. As the narrative progresses, it is the ``silver-haired'' shooter, Clayton Price, who emerges as the Waller hero, a man who honed his skills as a sniper in Vietnam, was captured and tortured by the Vietnamese and who became an assassin largely, we gather, out of loneliness. That particular problem is eventually solved by Luz, who teaches the shooter to dance (among other things). Meanwhile, various branches of the U.S. government are organizing a manhunt: the shooter, it turns out, had been working for a covert operations unit but had let his ``one personal vendetta'' get in the way of professionalism. As the trio make their way towards the border, they are slowly surrounded by a small army, allowing Waller several occasions to demonstrate his complete inability to write an action scene. These characters are flatter than cardboard, their situation is extremely unconvincing and the book is singularly devoid of suspense. But these weaknesses are nothing compared to the prose, which reads like an illiterate's imitation of Hemingway. Even the faithful may want to think twice about this one. Author tour; simultaneous Time Warner AudioBook. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

A washed-up American writer, Danny Pastor witnesses a contract hit while languishing in Puerto Vallarta with his lovely seorita, Luz. A generous offer from the killer, Clayton Price, induces Danny and Luz to aid Clayton with his perilous escape to the border. The chase is on, with frequent improbable interruptions devised, one supposes, to enhance character development and interject the requisite love triangle. This tiresome tale is divulged at a sluggish, incongruous pace made worse by the author's tedious, drawling narration. Waller's (The Bridges of Madison County, LJ 2/1/93) many enthusiasts will generate sufficient demand to mandate purchase by large collections, but this remains a weak effort.-Linda Bredengerd, Univ. of Pittsburgh Lib., Bradford, Pa.

Library Journal